Raising Navajo-Churro sheep

On our farm, we cross Dorset ewes with Hampshire rams to produce lambs that grow fast and yield a good meat product.

But, the centuries-old Navajo-Churro are known for wool. They have a long, greaseless protective top coat and a soft undercoat. The sheep are toned in 14 colors, from white through every hue of brown, black, and gray. The wool is used primarily for weaving outer garments, rugs and blankets. Lamb fleece wool makes terrific socks and sweaters.

Connie Taylor with the Navajo-Churro Sheep Association says they're a small animal, which means you can have more of them per acre and they eat less.

"I feed my sheep little to no grain," Taylor says. "And I feed pretty much straight grass hay. I cut ditch-bank weeds and so on with a hand scythe, and my sheep can raise twins on just straight forage."

As desert sheep, Navajo-Churros survive on less-than-perfect forage and provide good brush control. And they only graze about one-third of the day, as compared to meat breeds that munch all day.

Herd instinct

Taylor says these old-fashioned sheep have a strong herd instinct.

"They pack up, and they will fight predators to a certain extent, even though they're not a match for a dog," Taylor says. "A clump of sheep is just not quite as attractive to a predator as one lone sheep that goes its own way. They've retained a lot of primitive characteristics that the modern breeds don't have."

The Navajo-Churro is considered a rare breed, but the gene pool throughout the U.S. and Canada is large enough to maintain the purebred type. Expect to pay between $150 and $250 for rams and ewes.